National Express to invest £26m with hybrid vehicles, upgraded control room and hi-tech equipment

More than 130 new buses are on their
way to the West Midlands with a £26 million programme of investment by National Express – plus a new Oyster-style Smartcard.

The travel giant is splashing out on
a string of new vehicles across the region, including a range of environmentally-friendly hybrid vehicles, in its biggest investment outlay for years.

The company is also targeting getting more women and young people behind the wheel after recruiting 650 new drivers during 2012.

And
it is spending £1 million on a new control room at Bordesley Green, the
largest facility of its kind in the UK, to monitor services and traffic
conditions.

Meanwhile, a new mobile phone app for bus users will be unveiled in the second half of 2013, giving customers valuable real time information and help in planning journeys.

New state of the art technology to combat vandals is also in the pipeline, providing hi-tech CCTV equipment triggered by motion detection which capture faces of culprits.

The
major new investments by the bus group, the largest single private employer in Birmingham, was revealed by National Express West Midlands managing director Peter Coates.

“This
is the biggest investment programme for some years by National Express –
we have got a lot to look forward to in 2013,” he said.

“The 21 hybrids, which are electric and diesel together, will be going into Wolverhampton on routes 22 and 23.

“We
have got 18 hybrids already in Birmingham on the Harborne corridor which have worked very well and we want to spread the message.

“These
are expensive vehicles – they are around £300,000, but they will produce 30 per cent to 40 per cent savings on fuel costs. Fuel is our second biggest cost after pay and there was a big rise in fuel duty for bus companies last April.”

The
bus firm revealed that Birmingham passengers would also benefit from new Oyster-style Smartcards ‘giving customers new, simple ways to pay for and use bus travel’, while the new mobile phone app would be available later this year.